Ruth C. Thompson

Ruth Collins Thompson died peacefully surrounded by her family on Sunday, May 15, 2016, at the Attleboro Nursing and Rehab Center in Langhorne, PA. She was 90 years old.She was born in Freehold, NJ, and raised in New Egypt, NJ. She loved music and dancing and often went to New York City to dance the night away. During World War II, she worked at Fort Dix and became a valuable part of the war-effort. As the war was winding down, her high-school beau and lifelong partner, Charles M. Thompson, hitchhiked across the country to ask her to marry him. She agreed and the couple lived happily together until his death on January 20, 2003.During her early married years, she worked at a number of odd jobs to help support her growing family - which continued to grow for 14 years - and attended classes at Rider University. In the early 60s, she started teaching at Emile Christian Day School, where her clear love for children kept the demand for her services high during the 31 years until her retirement. Her job never kept her from taking her children, nieces and nephews to an area lake almost daily during the summer months until she and her family moved away from New Egypt and settled in Levittown in 1957. Activities naturally increased as the children grew older and she was always an active cheerleader.Always an avid camper, Ruth and her husband joined a camping club and hauled their trailer and then motor home all over the Eastern seaboard. They often set up camp in a campground near the shore for the summer where their married children frequently joined their younger siblings for a few days' vacation at the beach. After their retirement, Ruth and Charles also took a three-month excursion in their motor home across the United States and up the Alcan Highway to Alaska. It became one of the highlights of their life.She loved her gardening and created a virtual Garden of Eden in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Levittown. Biking was another passion as was conversations with friends and strangers - she could talk to anyone.She is survived by her children, Charles Thompson Jr. and his wife Christine Glaser of Levittown, PA; Diane Doyer and her husband Leo of Media, PA; Pamela Thompson of Westport, CT; Scott Thompson and his wife Karen of Winston-Salem, NC; Jodi Thompson and her husband William of Morrisville, PA; son-in-law Colin David Lindley of Monmouth, ME, 17 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Charles, and daughter Nina Lindley.Friends may call on Saturday, June 11, from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the James J. Dougherty Funeral Home, Inc., 2200 Trenton Road, Levittown PA. A memorial service will begin at noon. Donations may be made to the UUFLB (please put Building Fund on the memo line) and mailed to Penn's Square, 404 Middletown Blvd., Suite 308, Langhorne, PA 19047.